The Confederation of Paper Industries (CPI) issued its January briefing to MPs last week in which CPI Director General, David Workman, sets out the case for the UK remaining within a reformed EU.

He states that the position of the UK's Papermakers, Converters and Recyclers is in favour of the UK remaining within a reformed EU. The future of UK Papermaking relies on continued capital investment, and a strength of the EU for our industry is the ability to trade freely across borders.

Should the UK leave the EU, it would cast doubts over free movement and regulatory frameworks. Exporters to the EU would still have to comply with a host of EU regulations and standards, and we would be projected into a period of uncertainty. This is the type of business environment that deters investors, putting in jeopardy the 25,000 direct and 100,000 indirect jobs in the paper supply chain in the UK.

This being said, reform to the EU is not only overdue but essential. EU officials legislate in isolation regardless of the consequences to European industry, placing burdens and restrictions on industries such as Paper, particularly in relation to environmental, energy and climate change measures. The UK Government is not entirely blameless either, having signed up to the most challenging Climate Change targets than any other EU country.